After Hayley Elsaesser’s showing last season at World Mastercard Fashion Week, I couldn’t wait to see what’s in store for spring. Hayley’s esthetic is loud & colourful, and needs a beauty look that mimics this bold style. In saying that, essie & Maybelline absolutely did not disappoint!

Photo courtesy of essie Canada

Taking inspiration directly from the pattern on one of Elsaesser’s pieces, Rita Remark (Lead Nail Artist for essie Canada & Global Lead Educator) created a shimmering raibow ombré look that perfectly reflected this look.

Photo courtesy of essie Canada

Starting with a base of jiggle hi, jiggle lo, the new silk watercolours (available Spring 2016) in art new beau, muse myself, love sheen, pen & inky, highest bidder and no shrinking violet across the nails to create a gorgeous gradient from thumb to pinky.

Photo courtesy of essie Canada

Fab, right? Of course, you can easily play around with colours to get a look that’s more your style. I’ll be sharing details on the makeup soon!

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Hello gorgeous! I’ve got a couple of life updates recently to explain my absence the past few weeks. Work has been crazy busy, the family home that I grew up in went up for sale (which meant a ton of work to get it all ready for sale) and I moved into my own place (which means I’ve been living out of boxes for the past couple of weeks while I wait for the rest of my furniture). I’ve now got my own office/beauty room in my new pad, which is so fantastic, and I can’t wait to get it all set up and ready to go – pics to follow! As part of my move, I’ve got a ton of posts coming to help those of you are going to be moving soon out… Stay tuned for those!

Image courtesy of Maybelline Canada

Anyways, what better time to dive headfirst back into the blog than with the start of Fashion Week in Toronto? As always, WMCFW is a great source of beauty inspiration with Maybelline, Redken & Essie backstage prepping the models for the shows. I’m always so excited to see the new looks & trends that are going to be rolling out over the course of the week, and with talent like Grace Lee (Lead Makeup Artist for Maybelline Canada), Rita Remark (Global Lead Educator for Essie) and Jorge Joao (Lead Stylist for Redken) on hand you know all of the looks are going to be top notch. This week I’ll be sharing some of my favourite looks from the shows + tips on how to get them from the respective brands. I’ll also be hanging out at the tents tomorrow to check out the Star Wars presentation and backstage beauty for Pink Tartan (hands down one of my faves every season), so be sure to follow me on Instagram so you catch all of the action!

Image courtesy of Maybelline Canada

First up, I had to share the Maybelline look for Matthew Gallagher’s SS16 show. The 3D glass sculpture inspired glittery eye is so fab (and I’m thinking a necessity for New Year’s Eve, am I right?). Take a look at the steps & products used for this look below!

Image courtesy of Maybelline Canada

Face: To start, the skintone was evened out with Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation, before contouring and highlighting with the new Master Contour Palette (available January 2016), with a light dusting of pink added to the cheecks for a slight flush.

Image courtesy of Maybelline Canada

Eyes: This look was all about the eyes! A base was created using The Blushed Nudes Eyeshadow Palette before craft glitter was added for show-stopping sparkle, followed by a coat of The Falsies Push-Up Drama Mascaraon the top and bottom lashes. Eyebrows were then filled in with the Brow Drama Pro Palette.

Image courtesy of Maybelline Canada

Lips: A subtle pink lip finished off this look, with a combination of Color Sensational Creamy Mattes in Ravishing Rose and Color Sensational Color Elixir in Rose Defying for a fresh, light bit of colour.

Image courtesy of Maybelline Canada

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Pink Tartan is easily one of my favourite shows every time WMCFW rolls around. I love Kim Newport-Mimran’s collections – between the colour palettes she leans towards, the luxurious & wearable styles and her use of different textures, I’m obsessed.

Photo courtesy of Essie Canada

Rita Remark, Essie’s lead nail artist says, “The nail look is an androgynous matte nude, but each pinky carries a small ‘nail tattoo’. One symbolizes ‘God’ and the other ‘Goddess’ to honour the monastic theme of the collection.”

Photo courtesy of Essie Canada

Remark played on the collection’s Japanese & Tibetan inspiration to design this unique nail look, using Essie Allure as the base shade before painting the nail tattoos on with Essie Licorice. The look was then completed with the Essie Matte About You top coat for a smooth finish.

Photo courtesy of Essie Canada

I really love the idea of playing around with “nail tattoos” and am already thinking of fun ways to incorporate this into my look. What do you think?

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Toronto is alive with fashionistas right now as World Mastercard Fashion Week runs through the city, featuring Canadian designers and their amazing Fall/Winter 2015 lines. I’ve got all of the inside scoop on the beauty & nail looks being used for the shows throughout the week thanks to my friends at Maybelline & Essie and will be showing you some of my favourites throughout the week. See any you love? Let me know and I will recreate them for you, putting a more wearable spin on them if necessary!

Photo courtesy of Essie Canada

First up, Mikhael Kale – a collection full of ornate details, cut-outs, gorgeous fabrics and beautiful embellishments. Rita Remark, Essie’s lead nail artist, says of the look she created for the show: “I sought to redefine the typical ‘nude’, utilizing neutral polish colours to make a statement nail look. The result is versatile, yet strikingly unique at the same time.”

Photo courtesy of Essie Canada

This look uses a base of Essie Sand Tropez with Essie Blanc brushed on top to create an imitation of pale chiffon on the nails.

Photo courtesy of Essie Canada

What do you think of this look? I love how it plays on the feel of a nude, but gives the look more texture and still maintains a touch of elegance.

Photo courtesy of Essie Canada

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Last night I got to check out my first show of WMCFW SS 15, Pink Tartan. The show was fantastic, with a full 70s vibe (a little Led Zeppelin was even thrown in for good measure, which I can get behind). Rita Remark, Essie’s lead nail artist, decided to use this theme to create a simple and sexy yet glamorous look for the models walking the runway.

Rita prepped fingers and toes with essie’s nourishing and revitalizing Apricot Cuticle Oil and one coat of essie’s Ridge Filling Base Coat. She then applied one coat of essie’s Good As Gold, topped with ultra-shiny Good to Go Top Coat. She finished off the look by applying essie’s Quick-e Drops to speed up the polish’s drying time.

Simple but chic, this mani fit perfectly in with the collection’s 70s theme, and as Rita noted, brought a bit of a sexier spin to the look than we’re used to seeing from Pink Tartan. What do you think of this look?